Tag Archives: recipes

Let’s be honest, I really let my sweet tooth get out of hand this holiday and now I’m trying to dial it back a tad. And since it’s the beginning of the year and I know a lot of people (including myself) are trying to stick to their New Year’s goals of cutting back on the sweets, it didn’t seem right to tempt everyone with a blog post of baked goods covered in frosting or peanut butter. Also, can I even still write about New Years? It’s February.

For this recipe, I grabbed some inspiration from my friend, who commented on one of my MyFitnessPal statuses about her favorite high-protein, low carb snack. She suggested edamame and I picked some up on my last shopping trip.

If you’ve never had edamame, it’s a soybean that you usually steam in the pod. You can eat it by salting them in the shell and sucking them out of the pod. It’s really good and crunchy and satisfying when you want to reach for a potato chip. It doesn’t have an overwhelming bean or pea flavor either.

I normally eat edamame like the method I described above, but this time I decided to venture out and am I glad I did.

I told my boyfriend that these baked parmesan edamame are like Cheeze-Its, but with protein. They’re certainly as addictive.

These are best eaten warm and on the same day, or else they’ll get soggy. But they’re so good that you won’t have any problems with that. We devoured these.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Generously coat your edamame beans with the olive oil.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, parmesan, salt, and pepper until well combined.

I recommend using a fresh grated parmesan (one you’ll find in the refrigerated aisle), instead of the green tubes of parm you find by the pasta. I used to think I hated parmesan because my only exposure to it was that stuff. It’s packed full of preservatives and tastes incredibly bland. Do yourself a favor and either grate your own or buy it freshly grated. It changes everything.

Using about a handful at a time, place your oil covered beans into the flour mixture and generously coat them.

Place your battered beans on a silpat or a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 400° F for 30 minutes. Be sure to turn them half-way through to cook them on both sides.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. I’ve seen variations where people have added wasabi, and I was tempted to add sriracha – so let me know if you do!

parmesan-baked edamame

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

Try this high-protein snack.

Author: heidi

Recipe type: Appetizer

Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients

9 oz. (or 2 cups) of shelled edamame, cooked, and thawed, if frozen

2 Tbsp of olive oil

¼ cup of flour

½ cup of grated parmesan

2 tsp of salt

1 tsp pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 ° F.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, parmesan, salt, and pepper until well combined.

Generously coat your edamame beans with the olive oil

Using about a handful at a time, place your oil covered beans into the flour mixture and generously coat them.

Place your battered beans on a silpat or a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Since many of us are making resolutions to commit to a healthier lifestyle, I thought I’d share a tasty way to put a little more kick in your kale salad.

Last year, something clicked and I determined that I absolutely loved kale. Prior to that, it was only a fibrous and bitter leaf and the butt of my jokes. “No one actually likes kale. They just eat it out of a sense of responsibility to their body or the clean eating culture or whatever cause it may possibly represent.” I was one of them. I even blogged about kale chips! I still stand by them, but let’s face it, it’s not the same as a carb-loaded potato chip.

What changed? I’m not sure. It’s likely I was eating it wrong many years. Being stubborn without cause, I kept chewing through it and eventually found a few ways to make kale a lot more enjoyable.

Massage it – Before I tried massaging the leaves, I didn’t think it would really make that much of a difference, but it does! If your kale is too tough, throw a few drops of olive oil into the leaves and massage it for a few minutes with your hands.

Dress it – With kale, you can’t dip your fork into a side of dressing before eating the leaf. This kind of goes along with massaging it, but the kale leaf needs to be sufficiently covered with a dressing, even if it’s just balsamic vinegar. It helps soften and moisturize the leaves while making it more palatable.

Dry it – My salads improved immensely when I bought a salad spinner. It’s hard to get all of the water out of the curly kale leaves, but the spinner leaves them crisp and dry.

Top it – I’ve found that the toppings make all the difference. First, add fruit. Fruit isn’t too common in the traditional iceberg and romaine salads, which are usually filled with cheeses and vegetables. But I think fruit is definitely a “must” when it comes to kale. It’s soft and adds a bit of juice. Additionally, it adds sweetness to offset some of kale’s bitterness. I also like to add nuts in my salads to give it a crunch. Adding anything to change the way the salad feels in your mouth will enhance its flavor.

Go for something different – Don’t be afraid to try something that you wouldn’t ordinarily add in a salad. I hesitantly added a raw egg yolk in this recipe (my favorite!) and it was amazing! I experienced reluctance with the grapefruit and fennel in this recipe and was pleasantly surprised.

I first tried this salad over the Thanksgiving holiday. Ryan’s sister prepared it for us and I have to say, I was reluctant. While I’m usually pretty enthusiastic about kale, I’m definitely less so about grapefruit and fennel. You know how I said I used to joke that no one likes kale? Well, I strongly believe that no one can possibly like grapefruit.

But the flavors really come together in this salad. The grapefruit bursts with juice as you bite down, but it’s mellowed out by the creamy tahini. There’s definitely a lot of bitterness in this salad, but it’s not overwhelming and very pleasant to eat.

Creamy Kale and Grapefruit Salad with Garlic Tahini Dressing

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

Makes enough dressing for one bunch of kale and serves 4 – 6

Author: heidi

Recipe type: Salad

Cuisine: American

Yields: 4 - 6

Ingredients

For the Dressing

1 – 2 Cloves of crushed garlic

2 Tbsp tahini

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp of water

For the Salad

1 ruby red grapefruit

1 bulb of fennel or small red onion

1 bunch of kale (lactino or curly)

Toasted pine nuts (optional)

Instructions

For the Dressing

Create the dressing by whisking together the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Add the oil by slowly drizzling it into your tahini mixture as you continue to whisk.

Whisk in a tablespoon or two of water to thin out your mixture. You can do this as needed, if you find the mixture is too thick to cover completely cover the salad.

For the Salad

Wash the kale and remove the ribs. Tear the kale into bite-size pieces. If you’re using lactino kale, consider slicing them a little thinner.

Peel and slice the grapefruit into chunks removing any seeds or pith.

Thinly slice the fennel bulb or red onion.

Combine all of these ingredients into a large salad bowl

Pour the dressing over the kale salad, making sure to cover all of the leaves.

Serve with toasted pine nuts.

3.2.2807

I had to use a red onion because I didn’t have any fennel on hand, but they are both delicious. I promise this will not disappoint!

So what about you? Do you like kale? What’s one food that you can’t believe people eat?

I know it’s fall and we’re all scrambling around trying to figure out what pumpkin dessert/craft/drink we’re going to indulge in today, since pumpkin season always seems to go so quickly. But I have to pause and share with you my cold brew recipe that’s perfect for summer, which is ending.

There are lots of reasons why I’m only now, in mid-September, posting a mid-Summer recipe. They might be:

Some people will still drink iced coffee in the fall. I could drink it until the official start of Winter, because I love it so much.

It turns out, drinking two or three cups of cold brew a day doesn’t make you more productive. Unless productive means, “I should be blogging but instead I’m going down a Gawker rabbit hole.”

It make you pee a lot, which delays posts. And life.

Mostly though, I didn’t have enough self control to take an “after” picture. I prepared the cup and just drank the iced coffee instead.

This is a cold-brew technique, which means the beans are never heated. A lot of people think it’s a better way to drink coffee cold.

My favorite part is you make a big batch on the weekend and you have iced coffee for the whole week!

You filter the ground beans once through the mesh strainer. Then, cover the strainer with the muslin cloth and pour the coffee once more through the strainer. The cloth will filter out the smaller grinds and oils.

how to cold brew

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

12 hours

Total time

12 hours 10 mins

This cold brew coffee recipe only takes 10 minutes to prep and then sit it in the fridge overnight. In the morning you'll have a nice iced coffee.

Author: heidi

Recipe type: drinks

Ingredients

You will need:

A beverage pitcher

Fine mesh strainer

A 12 square-inch piece of muslin cloth (see notes for information)

2 cups coarsely-ground coffee

8 cups water, plus 2 cups

Ice

Notes

This recipe uses a muslin cloth to filter the beans. Muslin cloth is a plain 100% cotton cloth that can be found in any fabric shop. It’s very cheap and usually un-dyed. If you can find organic cloth, that would be best. In a pinch, you could use a large paper coffee filter, just beware of it tearing.

3.2.2708

Step by Step Instructions:

Go ahead and grind your whole beans, if you haven’t done so already.

Pour the coffee beans into a large beverage pitcher.

Then add eight cups of cold water.

Cover the container and let it sit and steep overnight in the fridge.

Once the coffee is done steeping, cover a mixing bowl with your mesh strainer. Pour the coffee through the strainer, so it catches the grinds.

Rinse out the pitcher, removing any leftover grinds, then pour the coffee back into it. Clean out the mesh strainer and the mixing bowl and repeat the pouring process, but this time with the muslin cloth. Pour it in a cup or two at a time, since it will take longer to strain. If the coffee is getting clogged (so to speak) in the cloth, just pick it up and give it a squeeze or wash the cloth in between pours.

Place the cloth over the strainer and pour the coffee through the cloth to filter it.

Once it’s gone through the muslin cloth, it’s well-filtered and drinkable. The cold brew is very strong so I add the other two cups of water to dilute it. Then add some ice to make it a true iced coffee! Fix it up with milk and sugar or maybe some fancy syrups, if you like. Whatever’s your preference!

Exciting news! I’m now a regular guest blogger over at From Gardners 2 Bergers. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity and Becca has been very sweet and wonderful to work with. I’ll be posting monthly recipes or DIYs. Becca’s blog is full of fun crafts and DIYs, so go check it out.

Have a beautiful weekend! We’re taking it easy around the house since we had a whirlwind of a time last week for my birthday and we’re going to have a crazy couple of weeks going forward. I’m actually excited to have the chance to do some deep cleaning and laundry (exciting, I know). While I’m doing that, here are some links for your weekend.

I bet you guys thought I died after my 10k, right? I’m alive and finished the race with a personal record. The day after the race, I was finally able to cash in my horseback riding Groupon. This horse’s name is Twister. He was not that excited to see me since our lesson was scheduled during nap time.

I’m gearing up to host our Adult Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch this weekend. I’m not sure what makes it adult, except perhaps booze and the potential for trespassing and climbing trees. Also there are tons of raccoons in my neighborhood that would love to get their grimy hands on brightly colored hard-boiled eggs. So there’s the potential for a face-off with a raccoon.

I was also considering doing an egg in spoon relay race. And the main event will be a lego-filled-egg hunt. Participants must find enough lego-filled eggs to build something spectacular with legos. It’s timed and will be harshly judged.

In honor of the copious amounts of boiled eggs you’ll be eating this weekend, I present to you Easter Egg Edition Weekender.

Have you ever stumbled across a delicious recipe on the internet? Do you write it down? Say to yourself you’ll remember it for later? Bookmark it? I don’t have many brilliant moments, but managing my recipes using gmail is one of the smartest things I’ve ever done. Here’s how.

Create the label

Create a label in Gmail. If you’re using the new Gmail theme, go to Settings, then Labels to create a new label. I named my label “yum.” You can take this a step further and create addition labels for “savory,” “sweet,” “breakfast,” etc.

Whenever you come across a recipe you want to keep, email it to yourself and apply this label.

Search by ingredient or recipe

Once you’ve applied this label, it makes it really easy to search your recipes. If you have an ingredient you can search it and see what you can make with it. Make sure you search within the label by selecting the label. Your search box should look like mine.

It pulls up everything that uses corn. Here’s how I email myself the recipes, to ensure the best search results.

Tips on emailing it to yourself

If I’m not using a reader, I just copy and paste the text into the body of my email. I also include the source link so I can go back to the page and read the comments.

Using Google reader

Using Google Reader has really expedited the process. I subscribed to a bunch of tasty blogs. The reader client gives you the option to email the entire article to someone (or yourself). This is what the email looks like when sent from a reader.

It usually includes all images and has the link back to the source.

I know there are a lot of sites you can join with recipe boxes, but if you’re all over the internet looking at food blogs, this is a good way to keep all of your recipes in one place.

It’s not Fall yet in Tallahassee. We’re still wearing white and flip flops. But we hope if we drink enough pumpkin beer and light enough pumpkin scented candles and eat enough pumpkin foods, Fall will come any day now.

So, enter the pumpkin chiffon cake – the first autumnal food of the wannabe season.

I had all of the ingredients in my house (bonus!), including pumpkin, which I hoarded from the great canned pumpkin shortage of 2010.

Sorry if you had a hard time finding pumpkin last year. I could have been at fault. I grabbed the last 5 cans at Target and didn’t look back. Then I generously gave them out to my friends. “Oh, you couldn’t find any pumpkin? I have pumpkin, but you see…My car could really use a wash…”

The hardest part of this recipe was whipping the egg whites.

My biggest first-world problem is that I don’t have a stand mixer. This electric hand mixer and I have been through some really though (read: emotional, angry, martial) times. And although I would drop it in a second for a stand mixer, I believe this hand mixer and I were meant to be together – mostly because I’ll never be able to afford the alternative.

So when a recipe says whip the egg whites for ten or fifteen minutes (a.k.a. eternity on a hand mixer), I just don’t. I whipped it for a few minutes before my arm fell off.

So the cake didn’t rise. Oh well, it doesn’t affect the taste one bit. I think I made a rookie mistake of not whipping the egg whites enough. My hands got too tired!

It was a tasty cake, say my friends. I didn’t have any since I don’t like pumpkin flavored things. That probably makes my pumpkin hoarding story even more ridiculous.

Posts navigation

welcome

Hi there! My name is Heidi. I live in Brooklyn, NY. I’m a hobbyist, adventurer, and struggling epicurean. I created this space to share beautiful things, tasty treats, easy crafts and any adventures I encounter along the way. I hope you’ll follow along. MORE